Eyemouth doctors oppose St Abbs lifeboat closure

Doctors in Eyemouth have backed the campaign for the lifeboat's retention

Doctors in Eyemouth have spoken out against the closure of St Abbs Lifeboat Station.

The RNLI plans to remove the boat on 8 September - despite a campaign in the area for its retention.

The Eyemouth Medical Practice has echoed the views of the lifeboat crew that the move could cost lives.

Its website backs the fight to save St Abbs lifeboat station - carrying links to both the campaign and an e-petition urging the RNLI to change its mind.

According to the local GPs, the "Golden Hour" - the first 60 minutes after an incident during which treatment can ensure or improve survival chances - is largely used up by journeys of about 40 miles to hospitals from St Abbs.

They added that anything likely to result in further delays was not "in the best interest of our community".

They stressed that "every minute counts".

Alan Mason, the RNLI lifeboat's own doctor, has also urged a rethink - praising the St Abbs crew's skill and dedication and insisting the station costs "peanuts compared to many medical procedures and drugs".

He pointed out a replacement boat, at Eyemouth, would take 20 minutes to reach the area and "much longer in poor conditions".

The St Abbs crew recently reached a diver within five minutes, he said, and "a life was saved that would have been lost had it taken any longer".

An RNLI spokesman has said it is "fully aware" of the strength of feeling in St Abbs and all the support for the station's retention.

However, he said the decision had been taken in April "following five years of research and data".